Reunification Via the PaganTech Express
by Sheilynn
Summary: The PTB did it again…screwed with her life. But Buffy does what she does best…deals with it, and tries to screw them right back – only this time she’s a bazillion lightyears from home.


Disclaimer:  None of the copyrighted stuff is mine – never has been, probably never will be, unless I marry Joss Whedon…which will never happen unless he moved to Utah and became Mormon (of course there's this little problem that HE DOESN'T KNOW ME EITHER.  LOL).  If you need to sue, all I got is a dime.  A dime!_ "We're in the money, we're in the money; We've got a lot of what it takes to get along!  We're in the money, that sky is sunny, Old Man Depression you are through, you done us wrong."_

Sheilynn suddenly falls into a broadway musical tap dance routine…_tap tap tap…thunk_ – of course it would help if she didn't have two left feet.

A/N:  All right!  I had promised myself that I wouldn't do this again…at least not so soon.  Grrr.  Last week sucked big time, what with having to study for a test and a final, that I needed a short, feel-good, happy ending story…unfortunately, too many of the really, really good authors seem to have disappeared.  (pout).  So, what do I end up doing?  I write one myself….ARGH!  Kick me!  Kick me now!  I SHOULD be working on Change, I know!  Fear not faithful readers, it's in the works at a good 18 pages.  Since I took two days off work, I'll have a whole four days to work on it!  Yay!

By the way…if you're interested, I got a final grade of **B** for my Calculus class!  Go Me!!  I rock!  (Well, not really – it was touch and go on that grade.)  In any case…(Sheilynn does a convulsive Snoopy Dance, then says 'Ah Hell' before starting a spastic dance, similar to the one that the hyper priest on Sister Act II does).

Summary:  The PTB did it again…screwed with her life.  But Buffy does what she does best…deals with it, and tries to screw them right back – only this time she's a bazillion light-years from home.

Warning – this one is going to be similar to Essence, in the way that it's a one-shot, ends kinda mushy, and really doesn't go anywhere…except maybe into a subtle feeling of needing a sequel.  (Nonononononono!)  And maybe a little like Predators, in the somewhat flippant department.

Have fun!

**Chosen ONE again, but with Reunions Via the Pagan-Tech Express**

With a loud "KERWOOSH", the gate closed behind the newest and, for the moment, _only_ Stargate Atlantis four-member exploration team.

Silence abounded the group as they surveyed their surroundings.

"All right, people.  Secure the area," Major Sheppard clipped out.

"What…no comments about the trees?" Dr. McKay snarked, the only member of the team who was there unwillingly – after all, he had better things to do back at the Atlantis base…at least _he_ thought so.

Sheppard gave him a confused look.

"According to SGC rumor, Colonel O'Neill commented on the trees every time he went off-world that it's become standard procedure for team leaders to say something about them before they do anything else," McKay said petulantly, waving his hand at the forest of trees surrounding the group, "So…comment, Major."

Sheppard rolled his eyes.  "See the forest, see the trees…we are enlightened – now secure the area."

McKay muttered under his breath as he took his position east of the Stargate, eyes roaming the area for any signs of trouble.  Pulling out a rectangular object from his jacket, he turned it on, pointing it in the direction of the forest nearest him.

"Any life-signs, McKay?" Sheppard asked.

"Nothing big enough to give me a blip," he responded, moving the object slowly around the area.  "But, for all the technological advancements the Antlantians created, this detector won't tell me if there were a pack of intelligent killer rodents surrounding us."

Lt. Ford snorted in amusement.  "Let me guess…the last thing you watched on TV was the Sci-Fi movie 'Rats'."

Sheppard chuckled at the scowl that crossed McKay's face.

"Major Sheppard…I feel something in that direction," Teyla said quietly, pointing towards the west.

"Wraiths?" Sheppard asked, immediately becoming alert as he gripped his P-90.

"No.  I am unsure what it is – it is very faint, but I feel some…presence."

Dr. McKay quickly pointed the detector in the direction the woman indicated – it began to blip in a continuous fashion.

"We have a winner…or a loser, depending on how you look at it," McKay babbled nervously.  For all his interest in learning about everything in the unknown portions of the universe, it was the sentient beings that gave him the most cause for concern.

"Teyla, you and I will take point…McKay, follow and keep us going in the right direction…Ford, watch our six," the Major barked out, moving to take the lead position, Teyla immediately stepping up to his side.

The group cautiously entered the dense forest, keeping silent except for McKay's occasional 'left' or 'right', depending on their current direction.

They had gone maybe a quarter of a mile before they happened upon clearing that showed signs of a battle.  Several trees were heavily scarred by very new, long and deep gouges, and a few trunks seemed to be broken in half.

"Woah!  Look at those slashes!" McKay said nervously, his eyes darting around the area.  "I don't know about you, but I think it would be a good idea if we headed back to the Stargate before we met up with the thing that _made_ those marks!"

Before he could respond, Teyla called out from one side of the clearing.  "Major Sheppard!  Over here!"

Sheppard quickly moved to where the female member of his team knelt, looking at something in the bushes – the other two men at his heels.

They were disturbed to see an extremely large, orange colored _thing_ lying unmoving within the dense foliage.  Other than knowing it was bi-pedal, based on its basic form, nothing else was recognizable.  It was about 3 meters in length, extremely muscular, a pumpkin-orange color, and had really lethal looking claws…but, other than a 3 inch gaping hole where a chin was normally located, its facial features were nothing more than vague indentations upon its visage.

Seeing the large, ugly…thing, McKay took a hasty step backwards.  "Ahhh…what the hell is that?!  And _please_ tell me it's dead!"

"There is no life in this being," Teyla answered quietly.  "Both its neck and back have been broken in several places – nothing could survive that."

"Have you ever seen anything like it before?" Sheppard asked as he knelt beside her, careful not to touch the unknown being.

"Though my people and I know of many species, I am unfamiliar with this life form, Major," she said, shaking her head. 

"Major…not to be the voice of dissent, but do we _really_ want to meet up with whatever can kill something of that size?" McKay said, looking around the rest of the clearing nervously.

"I hate to say it, sir, but I think he has a point," Ford offered.

While the two men were speaking to the leader of the group, Teyla quietly rose from the ground.  The presence still niggled at the edge of her consciousness…it was close, and she felt compelled to find whatever was drawing her.

Stepping over the strange being, Teyla moved further into the brush, pushing aside the dense foliage.  Only feet away, she stopped abruptly at the sight that met her eyes.

"Major," she said softly to the group behind her.  Getting no response, she raised her voice, "Major Sheppard, I have found something else."

The conversation behind her stopped abruptly.  At Teyla's gesture, the Major firmly gripped his weapon, and slowly made his way through the undergrowth to where she stood.

His eyes widened at the sight that greeted his eyes.

There, partially covered by leaves, lay a young, blonde-haired woman on her side, a gash on her forehead sluggishly leaking blood.  By his guess, she was in her early 20's, but what confused him was the fact that she wore clothing that screamed 'Earth' – but that wasn't possible, since they were light-years away from their home world!

"Is she...?" he hesitantly began.

Teyla knelt down next to the young woman and gently rolled her onto her back.  She gasped at the sight of a large burn mark on the woman's stomach, and quickly reached out a hand to feel for a pulse on her neck.

"She is alive, though her pulse is fairly weak.  She needs immediate medical attention, Major," Teyla said sharply.

Sheppard quickly slung his weapon over his shoulder, moving it into position behind his back.  He knelt down and gently lifted the young woman into his arms.  Standing up, he gestured with his head for Teyla to precede him.

The Athosian woman moved forward, holding the foliage back to allow the Major to move through the dense underbrush without it harming the unconscious woman in his arms.

When the Major stepped back into the clearing, McKay and Ford looked agog at the sight of the small woman he held.

"Where'd you find _her_…and is there another one for me," McKay quipped, grinning nervously.

"Questions can wait…she needs medical attention.  Ford, take point and lead us back to the Stargate.  Teyla, you're rear guard.  Let's move people!" Sheppard barked out, giving a worried look at the woman he carried. 

It was a much shorter trip back to the stargate, than their original excursion to the clearing, and Ford quickly dialed the Atlantis base address on the DHD.  Punching in the correct sequence on the GDO strapped to his arm, he counted to five, then gestured Sheppard to the front.

Taking a firmer grip on the young woman in his arms, the Major stepped through the event horizon.

===========================================================

Alarms went off in the command station of SG Atlantis, causing a concerned look to cross the face of Dr. Weir, the base leader.

"Report!" she barked out to the man manning the gate station.

"Incoming wormhole, ma'am…no code yet.  Wait…it's SGA-1, Dr. Weir," the man replied.

"They're not due back for another 4 hours," she murmured to herself, before stating, "Open the iris, lieutenant."

"Yes, ma'am."

Weir moved to the balcony that overlooked the area where the Stargate was located, watching the event horizon for signs of the returning off-world team.

At first she was relieved to see Sheppard step safely through, followed by the rest of his team, but her relief turned to alarm as she took in the obviously injured young woman in his arms.

Pressing the communications device hooked over her ear, she barked out, "Medical team to the gate room…I repeat medical team to the gate room for a medical emergency."

Having taken care of the most important issue, she quickly moved down the stairs to where Sheppard was gently laying the young woman on the ground.  The Major backed away as the medical team arrived, and allowed them to take over.

"What happened, Major?" Weir asked as she approached him.

"Went to A3X-779, commented on trees, found two life forms, one butt-ugly and dead, the other…" Sheppard said flippantly as he waved an arm in the unconscious woman's direction.

"Do you know who she is?"

"No…we found her exactly as she is now…unconscious," he replied as removed his weapon from around his neck and unzipped his vest.  "And the other life form?  Don't know _what_ the hell it was, but I have to say I'm _really_ glad it was dead."

Weir raised an eyebrow, "Why is that, Major."

"'Cuz it was about 9 feet tall and had friggin' 6-inch claws," McKay interjected as he approached the two, holding out his hands, curled as if he was about to scratch something.  "And did he mention it was orange?"

"Orange?" Weir said, looking at him in disbelief.

"Uh…that would be a yes, doctor," Ford said, having quietly joined the group.  "It also had no recognizable features, other than a strange 3-inch hole in the lower portion of its face.  It was very…disturbing."

Weir looked at the silent Athosian woman standing on the outskirts of their group.

"Teyla?  Anything to add?"

"Only that I am unfamiliar with its species.  Though I don't believe they will know either, I will ask my people if they have heard of it," Teyla said softly.

"I'd appreciate that.  Any ideas of who or what killed it?" Weir asked the group.

"I'm not sure we want to find out, doctor…the thing's neck and back were broken in several places," Sheppard offered as he rubbed his cheek.  "Considering _that_ was the cause of death, and that the clearing we found it in was demolished, we decided to leave before we met what did it."

"Wise decision, Major," Weir said in mild amusement, before briskly continuing, "Clean up and meet in the infirmary for your post-op check-up, SGA-1."

The group nodded, and moved in the direction of the designated locker-room.

==================================================================

"Dr. Weir to the infirmary…Dr. Weir to the infirmary," a voice with a Scottish accent called over the Atlantian intercom.

Having already been on her way there, it only took Weir a couple of minutes to arrive.  She entered the make-shift infirmary to see a several staff members, including Dr. Beckett, chattering excitedly to one another.

The Scottish doctor broke off from the group and immediately approached Weir.

"Dr. Weir!  I've got something you _have_ to see!" he said excitedly.

He gestured the base leader over to a private area, and she was surprised to see the unconscious young woman that had been brought back by Sheppard and his team 6 hours earlier.

"What has you so excited, Dr. Beckett?" she said, amused to see the Scottish man bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I don't know how it is possible, Dr. Weir, but this young lady has recuperative healing at a speed I've never seen before!"

Beckett moved to a computer next to the bed and taped out a few key strokes, bringing up an image.

Weir moved closer to the monitor, grimacing at seeing the picture of a large area of stomach covered in third-degree burns.

"Dear God!  What happened?!" she asked, aghast.

"Both the burn marks and the woman's condition lead me to believe that she was electrocuted by a large current at close range.  It's amazing enough that she lived through it, but that's not why I called you here, doctor," Beckett said with a grin, bouncing on his heels again.

The doctor moved to the bed and pulled back the covers draped over the young woman.  He carefully moved the hospital garment upwards, revealing the woman's bandage-covered stomach, then gently peeled away the taped edges and uncovered the area.

Dr. Weir started at seeing the smooth stomach, which only showed a faint trace of shiny skin that spoke of a healing wound.

"How is this possible?" she whispered, stunned.  "No one can heal that fast!  And our bodies aren't capable of healing third-degree burns with no scarring!"

"I know!  I know!!  Incredible, isn't it?!" Becket exclaimed before re-attaching the bandage and covering the young woman back up.  He gestured Weir to a nearby table. 

The doctor picked up a square metal dish covered with a light blue cloth.  With a flourish, he whipped off the fabric, revealing its contents.

Weir paled a little as her brain made a connection with what the dish held.  She stepped back.

"Is that…?" she started faintly.

"The young woman's skin?  Yes!!" Beckett said happily, waiving the dish under her nose.  "When I went to change the bandages, it was like the entire burned area slid off to reveal a whole new layer of skin!  Amazing, isn't it?!  I've never seen anything like it!  Skin usually heals itself in patches, the scabs peeling away in pieces as the area is replaced by new skin.  The entire process repeats itself…scabbing, peeling, scabbing and peeling again…until the skin is no longer in danger of infection.  Never before has an entire area this large healed in one go!"

Weir paled even further with the combination of Beckett's graphic descriptions and the dish of burnt skin being waved in her face.  She grabbed the container, set it sharply back onto the table, and covered it back up.

"So what does that mean, Dr. Beckett?" Weir asked, a little green around the edges.

Non-plussed by the woman's actions, the doctor continued excitedly.

"I tested her blood samples and found her white-blood cell count to be 10 times that of normal humans…but without further testing, I can only guess at the rest of the process.  Third-degree burns should leave massive scarring, doctor…I have no idea how or why her skin is healing perfectly – it's as if the epidermal cells in the outer layer of the skin are duplicating themselves instead of dividing and migrating over the area like they normally do, and the fibers and molecules in the dermis, the lower layer of the skin, aren't becoming more dense, as it usually does, which is one of the reasons it causes scars to form."

"And what does that _mean_, doctor?"

"It means…she is _perfect_," Beckett said, looking like he was in medical heaven.

Weir looked at him with an amused expression.

"The medical industry has been trying for _decades_ to accelerate and improve the human body's immune and repair system…and she has it naturally!" the doctor exclaimed before turning fervent eyes towards Weir.  "I would like your permission to take more blood samples for study, Dr. Weir.  If we could duplicate this process…"

Dr. Weir hesitated for a moment, reluctant to encroach on the young woman while she was unable to voice her opinion – but she was also realistic…the ability to heal at an accelerated rate would be invaluable to the people under her command, considering they were completely cut off from Earth (including additional medical supplies), and still had a long way to go in recognizing, much less _understanding_ the Atlantian equipment.

"Very well, doctor, but only this once – the young woman should have a say in whether or not she wants to be a guinea pig," Weir said, giving the doctor a look of warning.

Beckett was too excited to notice.  He grabbed her in an unexpected, but heartfelt, hug, before quickly grabbing the necessary supplies and moved back to the where the unconscious woman lay.

"If that is all, doctor…contact me when she regains consciousness," Weir said, then gave a small chuckle as the medical doctor just waved a distracted hand in her direction.

Weir turned and walked towards the infirmary entrance, but was stopped by a startled yelp.  She spun around, only to see the young woman leap up from the bed, her hand gripping the Scottish doctor. 

As the young woman then spun the doctor into the wall, she reached behind her back, removing a weapon from somewhere, and pressed the pointed end roughly against the Scottish doctor's chest.

"Uh…Dr. Weir…she's conscious," Beckett said with a nervous laugh as he pressed himself against the wall, trying to keep the sharpened point from entering anywhere into his body.

"Security to the infirmary!  Security to the infirmary!" Weir shouted into her communications headpiece.

Upon hearing another voice, the young woman moved the weapon away and grabbed the doctor by the lapels of his lab coat.  She spun him in front of her and into a firm headlock, pressing the bladed edge of her weapon against his throat as she turned to confront the possible danger in the other direction.

Dr. Weir noticed the young woman's wary gaze as she looked around her, and moved into her line of vision.  Weir stopped where she was when the young woman pinned her with a warning look.

"We're not here to harm you, miss," Weir said calmly.  "My name is Dr. Elizabeth Weir.  Some of our people found you unconscious in a clearing – you were injured, and we brought you here for medical treatment."

The young woman seemed to relax at that, and her choking grip on the doctor loosened slightly. She lowered the blade a little, but didn't remove it completely.

"Where am I?" she asked gruffly.

"You're at our base…" Weir began.

The young woman tensed at the word 'base', but made no further movement.

"Where?" she growled.

Before Weir could answer, security arrived.  At the sight of several men carrying weapons and pointing them in her direction, the young woman's blade moved back into its previous position against the doctor's neck.  Her gaze hardened.

"Stand down!" Weir barked out to the men, trying to keep the young woman from making a fatal mistake due to fear.  She almost wished she hadn't called security so quickly.

The men reluctantly pointed their weapons towards the ground, looking at a dark-haired man, who had moved to stand next to their base leader, for further instruction.  The man waved them back with a hand gesture to let them know to keep alert, but not to make any sudden moves.

"Hi there, Miss…?" Sheppard said, ending the short statement with an obvious question of her name.

The young woman looked him up and down, taking his uniform in with a derisive glance.

"You're military," she stated flatly.

"That I am…Major John Sheppard, of the United States Air Force, at your service," he said with a mock-salute and a friendly smile.

"I don't really care much for the military, flyboy," the young woman said shortly, turning away to look at the woman who appeared to be in charge.  "So, where am I?"

"Where do you think you are?" Weir countered calmly.

"Uh…_hellooo_…was unconscious during the transport," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe I should ask where you think you _were_," the base leader said cautiously.

The blonde woman gave her a piercing look at that question, but answered anyway, "I assume I was somewhere in Minnesota or Montana, or some other mall-less state that begins with an 'M' and has a lot of trees."

"You're from Earth?" another man asked in astonishment.

The young woman looked at him with a raised eyebrow before answering slowly as if speaking to a mentally challenged person.  "Yes...I'm…from…Earth.  You know, the big blue marble as seen from space, lots of oceans, land, shopping malls…yeesh, by your appalling lack of fashion, I thought you were some kind of geek that was intelligent enough to know what planet you live on, but I guess I'm wrong on that account."

Major Sheppard snickered at the annoyed expression on Dr. McKay's face.

The young woman turned back to the female leader, saying, "Dr. Weir, I believe I asked a question that has yet to be answered.  You said I'm at your base…I'm surrounded by the camouflage circus – I'm thinking military base.  So, where?  California?  Colorado?  That no-longer unknown facility in Nevada?  God, I hope it's not Florida – I don't do well on long flights."

Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard exchanged glances.

Seeing the exchange, the young woman became suspicious.  "You're not the Initiative, are you?  'Cuz I have to say, I'm gonna kick your ass again if you're pulling another Frankenstein.  And don't even _think_ of using me in your half-assed experiments, or you'll be seeing your insides up close and personal."

"What's the Initiative?" Weir asked, confused.

"I'll take that as a no," the young woman said with a look of relief.  "And I'd appreciate it if you would answer my question and tell me _where_ on Earth I am."

"You're not _on_ Earth, you idiot!" McKay said sarcastically, arms crossed over his chest.

The young woman scowled at his name-calling then, faster than anyone could see, tossed her weapon a few inches into the air, grabbed an object from the computer table and threw it at the man.  It hit him smack-dab in the middle of his forehead as she reclaimed her weapon and placed it back at the doctor's throat.

"Ow!" he yelped, smacking a hand to his forehead as the object dropped to his feet.  He looked down, then looked back at the woman with a glare.  "Did you just hit me with a mouse?!"

Sheppard coughed to cover a laugh, while Weir covered her mouth with a hand to hide a grin.

"Yeah, dork…I was trying to hit the reset button for your manners," the young woman said scathingly.

This time, Sheppard couldn't help laughing out loud.  "Oh God…I like you."

The young woman flashed a grin at him before turning back to Dr. Weir.  "So, care to explain?  I'm really not on Earth anymore?  Where are we?"

"We're a very long, long way from Earth, and I'd be happy to explain everything if you would be so kind as to release Dr. Beckett.  We won't harm you, I promise," Dr. Weir said with a smile.

The young woman stared confusedly at her for a moment, then looked down at the man she had forgotten she was threatening.

"Oh God…I'm so sorry," she exclaimed as she released the man.  Helping him up, she brushed down the front of his lab coat where she had wrinkled it with her grip.  "It's just…I kinda went into battle-mode when you pricked me with your needle – I thought I was being experimented on.  And with all the talking and Mr. Rudeness, I forgot you were there.  I'm really, really sorry."

Dr. Beckett couldn't help but smile at the nervous babble coming from the tiny woman.

"No harm done, missy.  Though, if you would be so kind as to keep that away from my neck in the future, I would appreciate it," the Scottish doctor said, waving a hand at the lethal looking weapon she held in her hand.

The young woman blushed before stammering another apology as she whirled the sharp weapon behind her, where it promptly disappeared from everyone's eyes.

"It just vanished into thin air!  That's impossible!  It goes against every known law of physics!" McKay blurted out.

"Not if the object is giving off a reflection counter-wave," the young woman countered.

"There is _no_ such thing as a reflection counter-wave!"

"Yes there is," she replied smugly.  "Think 'white-noise' for light-waves – my friend figured it out a few months ago."

McKay looked flummoxed. 

The young woman felt a light touch on her back before the Scottish doctor leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"It's not there…I don't feel it."

She turned her head towards him as she responded quietly, "Do _you_ want to explain the concept of a sub-space pocket to a science geek?"

The man actually giggled before saying, "I think I'll pass."

She grinned at him.

"So, Miss…do you have a name?" Sheppard asked, flashing an amused smile at her.

"Oh…um…Buffy…Buffy Summers," she said, stepping forward as she held out a hand in greeting.

The Major chuckled as he took her hand and shook.  "Well it's nice to meet you Ms. Summers…welcome to The Lost City of Atlantis."

Buffy arched an eyebrow at him.  "_The_ Atlantis…as in supposedly sunk somewhere in the Atlantic on _Earth_, Atlantis?"

"That's the one."

"Bet all the treasure hunters kicked their own butts after hearing that," she said with a laugh.

"I'm afraid they won't be doing that for some time, since its classified information, Ms. Summers," Weir said with a smile as she shook the woman's hand next.  "I _would_ like to know how you ended up on A3X-779, though."

"A3X-779?" Buffy said with a confused look.

"The planet we found you on…you know, the non-Earth place with lots of trees," Sheppard said with a chuckle.

"Dammit!  Must have been the portal – stupid demon," she said scowling.

"Demon?" Dr. Weir said with a look of disbelief.

"Yeah…since I'm still alive, it had to be close to where you found me, and really, really dead.  Believe me, you couldn't miss it – 9 feet tall, pumpkin-orange, wicked claws, one-too-many facial scrubs with sandpaper, and an orifice that would make even a gay man run in the other direction."

Sheppard cracked up laughing.

"I think it's safe to say that my people found it, Ms. Summers…and it _was_ dead as you say," Weir said with a chuckle.  "Do you know what killed it?  And should we worry about it showing up here?"

Buffy glanced nervously at the crowd of people in the infirmary.

Seeing her apprehension, Dr. Weir turned to dismiss the security staff, waiting until the only remaining people were herself, Dr. Beckett, and the entire SGA-1 team, a quiet Teyla observing from a corner of the room.

"I'm afraid we don't quite have a conference room set up yet, Ms. Summers, so this is the best I can do."

"Well, it's a great deal better than Xander's old basement, so I have no complaints," Buffy said, then paused as she looked down at her hospital garb.  "Well…maybe just one.  Can I have my clothes back?"

Dr. Beckett chuckled, then opened up a drawer near the bed that the young woman had previously occupied.  He pulled out a small stack of clothing and handed them to her, along with her boots.

"I'm afraid your shirt is not in very good condition, but it should be serviceable until we can find you a more suitable one."

Buffy held it up in front of her, letting out a sound of irritation.  "Damn demons!  I just bought this last week!"

The small blonde moved behind a partition that hid her from the rest of the room and quickly changed.

As soon as she re-emerged, she said, "So…_I_ did, and I'm already here."

The group looked confused.

Leaning up against the table next to where Major Sheppard was sitting, Buffy laughed before she explained.  "You asked who killed the big orange demon, and if you should worry about it showing up here.  Well, I killed it, and I'm already here, so you can stop worrying."

"That's impossible!!  There is _no_ way you could have taken down something that size…I mean, look at you – you're like…mini-Barbie!" McKay said with a derisive look.

"Do you want my scythe to take a very close look at your neck?" Buffy growled.  "But before I do that, maybe I should get your name so I know what to put on your headstone."

"His name is Dr. Rodney McKay…and I think his reset button is faulty.  I can give you a grenade if you want to try again, Ms. Summers," Sheppard offered with a chuckle.

Buffy grinned at him.  "Tempting as that is, I'll have to pass…I really don't want brains splattered all over my already trashed shirt.  And picking it out of your hair?…_so _not fun."  She looked around at the rest of the group.  "So, we have Major Sheppard, Dr. Beckett, Dr. Weir, and _Dr._ McKay, who I seriously doubt is a doctor of anything except maybe foot-in-mouth disease…who are the other two?"

Sheppard laughed as he pointed to the dark-skinned man who stood several feet away with a large grin on his face, "The grinning fool is Lt. Aiden Ford, and the quiet woman over there is Teyla Emmagan, leader of the Athosian people…which I'll explain later."

Buffy nodded her head at them in greeting.

"So, Ms. Summers…you were saying something about a demon and a…portal?" Weir said, bringing the conversation back on track.  "You have to admit that sounds…incredible."

"Not to mention insane, unbelievable, coo-coo for coconuts…" McKay snarked before immediately falling silent at the small blonde's quelling glare…not to mention the slicing motion she made across her neck.

Sheppard leaned over and whispered, "You have _got_ to teach me that look."

Buffy chuckled.  "It may sound incredible, but it's my life…at least it has been for the last 9 years.  And before KayKay here starts huffing and puffing that 'demons don't exist and you can't create a portal', let me say that 'yes they do, and yes you can' – how else can you explain the dead jolly orange giant, and my presence here?"

McKay glared at her.

"I'm not sure how much I want to explain to you, because I've already had some really nasty dealings with the military, and _really_ don't want to place not only my life, but hundreds of lives on the line.  I think I need to know a little more about your operation here before I spill any beans – I can't just tell you everything without knowing that you won't turn around and use it against me and my people," Buffy said firmly.

"If your people are back on your home world, then there is no worry for you, Buffy Summers," Teyla said quietly as she approached the group.  "There is no way for them to return to Earth…and they are unable to make contact."

The small blonde looked from Teyla to Dr. Weir.  "Is that true?  You can't go back or talk to anyone?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Summers…what Teyla said is true.  Everyone here from Earth knew this post may turn out to be a one way trip," Dr. Weir said, hoping the young woman wouldn't take the news badly.

Buffy sighed.  "Figures…there's never an easy way out.  Fine…if that's the way things are right now, than I guess there's no harm in explaining everything.  But if there _is_ a chance for you to return to Earth, I need to know that you'll keep this information to yourselves."

"I can't promise anything, Ms. Summers, but if what you have to say is that important, I think we can work something out," Dr. Weir offered.

"I'm afraid that's not good enough, Dr. Weir.  If what I reveal gets into the wrong hands, you will be condemning hundreds of little girls into becoming lab rats.  I need something more than 'we can work something out'."

Dr. Weir hesitated a moment.  "I understand your concern, Ms. Summers…but, while I may be in command of this base, I have superiors that I will eventually have to answer to, once we reconnect with Earth.  I can't make any promises that would countermand possible orders from my superiors, especially since I don't know what information I would promise to withhold from them."

Buffy's gaze hardened.  "The information you'd withhold from them would keep several 13 to 18-year old girls from being tortured and dissected by people who would want to use them to create super-soldiers – the US military already tried to do it with demons, but lost control of them…do you really think they'd turn their backs on having young, impressionable guinea pigs they _can_ control?"

Seeing that the argument was getting them nowhere, Sheppard smoothly stepped in to play mediator.

"I think there are good and credible arguments for both sides – we could talk until we're blue in the face, and _still_ not come to any agreement.  Maybe we're looking at this in the wrong way," the Major said, a thoughtful look on his face.  "Ms. Summers, considering I really don't know _why_ you think the military would be interested in your people, I hope you'll be able to answer one question without feeling like you're giving any information away."

Buffy gave him a suspicious look, but gestured for Sheppard to continue.

The dark-haired Major took a moment to think about how to word the question he wanted to ask, in a way that the blonde woman would be able to answer with a simple 'yes' or 'no'.

"Even though we're from the same planet, do you think you and your people are…advanced enough – in any particular capacity – to consider yourselves as another…species, such as enhanced humans?" Sheppard asked carefully.

Buffy gave him a suspicious look before slowly saying, "Yes."

Sheppard grinned in triumph as he turned to the leader of the Atlantis base.  "Dr. Weir, don't we have some pretty flexible parameters for making agreements with other species?"

Weir gave him a slow nod, a smile beginning to cross her lips as she understood just where her 2IC was going with this.

"And, if I remember correctly, the parameters don't state that we can't make agreements with other species from the same planet as us – so, there we are…loophole," Sheppard flashed them a triumphant grin.  "Now all Ms. Summers has to do is come up with a name for her people, and say that, as part of the agreement, she will not reveal where her home world is located – and maybe change her name, so it isn't apparent that she's from Earth."

"Annaleigh, eldest of my people, The Chosen, and, if you agree, I will tell you everything except the location of my home world," Buffy said with a grin as she held out a hand to Dr. Weir.

"Welcome to Atlantis, Annaleigh…I think I can agree to those terms," Dr. Weir said with a matching smile as she shook her hand again.

Having developed a pretty good skill at reading people, Buffy could tell that the woman was being honest with her – at least for now.  Buffy nodded.

Immediately launching into the long and convoluted story of the past 9 years of Slaying, Buffy left nothing out…especially about the Initiative.  It took a long time, even though she kept most of the stories to the bare minimum. 

The others sat in astonished silence, though Teyla looked as if she had accepted Buffy's tales more readily.

"You really expect us to believe all that?!" McKay sputtered.  At the blonde's glare, he waved a hand in the air.  "Please…I'm not trying to be rude, but…how could all that go unnoticed by the _entire_ _world_?!"

"It's a lovely thing called _denial_," Buffy smirked.  "The Sunnydale police had hundreds of 'gangs on PCP' excuses for demon and vampire attacks, the doctors wrote 'fell on bar-b-que forks' for vampire killings, it was said the school blew up due to a leaky gas line, the portal opened by Glory was said to be a freak lightening storm, and the flying dragon that came out of it was a deformed blimp…they don't _want_ to know!"

"A deformed _blimp_?  How did they explain away its wings?" the Major asked with a small smile.

"Steering…flaps."

Sheppard burst out laughing, and even Dr. Weir chuckled.

"Oh God…they actually said that?" the Major asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"Yup…in the paper and everything," Buffy said as she shook her head in amusement.  "The point is, most people will try to find _any_ excuse, just so they don't have to face the fact that the monsters under the bed really _do_ exist."

"I can't believe people are _that_ stupid," McKay said as he shook his head in amused disbelief.

Arching an eyebrow at him, Buffy said, "Tell me Dr. McKay – if you had seen that orange demon on Earth, would you have believed it?  Or would you have accepted any excuse, even going so far as believe that it was an orangutan deformed by a major chemical spill, just so you didn't have to acknowledge that something like it walks freely on the face of the same planet you live on?"

McKay looked thoughtful before he reluctantly responded, "I see your point."

Buffy gave him a smile before turning to Dr. Weir.  "So, what's your guys' story?"

Dr. Weir and Sheppard exchanged looks again.

"Hey hey…what's with the glancy glance stuff?  Don't give me that classified crap…I just spilled the beans on my life, and…hey…stuck here with you guys for God knows how long – you can't expect me to walk around in the dark the whole time I'm here…I might just _accidentally _step on something important, like your reproductive organs," Buffy scowled as she glared at Sheppard, giving a pointed look at his lap.

Giving the blonde an amused look, he turned to Dr. Weir, indicating that it was up to her.

"You have to realize that all this is all highly classified, Ms. Summers – the general public isn't ready for this kind of knowledge," Dr. Weir began.

"Like demons?" Buffy countered, raising an eyebrow at her. "I know how to keep a secret, Dr. Weir…my entire life is a secret – besides…not exactly _near _the general public at the moment," the small blonde said with a small smile on her face.

Weir smiled in self-deprecation as she nodded her head.  "Point taken, Ms. Summers."

"Well, if we're going to be sharing our deepest and darkest secrets, I think you can call me Buffy," she said with a grin.

"And I'm Elizabeth," Weir said, then began a lengthy explanation of the Stargate program, all the way up to the newly created Atlantis expedition.

Like Buffy's, their own story had its moments of danger and apocalypses, and the blonde woman took it in stride…aliens and everything…but she was surprised to hear that the Atlantis group had only been there for a little over two weeks.

"I'm not going to be the only newbie around?  Cool," Buffy grinned.  "So, is there anything I can do to help in the short time I'll be here?"

"Short time…?  Um…Buffy, we _did_ say there was no way of getting back to Earth – at least for the moment," Sheppard said slowly.

"Maybe for you, but I got me one bad-ass Wicca as a best-friend, who's going to be searching high and low for me – when she figures out where I am, she'll pull out the major mojo and come to get me," the blonde woman said confidently.

"No she won't," a voice said from across the room.

Buffy's slayer-senses went haywire.  Quickly removing her weapon from behind her back, she used the table to jump over everyone to place herself between the demon and the rest of the group.

Looking the demon up and down, she gripped the scythe tighter.  The intruder wasn't exactly friend-looking, being about 8 feet tall, dark-grey in color, with wicked horns and a weird ring attached to its chin…it looked very much like its only purpose was to kill things.  It also looked a little familiar.

"Who the _hell_ are you, and what do you mean she won't?" the Slayer growled.

"I'm Flip, your new demon guide, and I said that the Wicca won't be coming to get you back," the demon said casually.

"Flip..Flip…hey!  You're that demon that was responsible for Cordy's death!  I thought you were dead?!  Angel told me about you, so give me one good reason I shouldn't just chop off your head and be done with you?" Buffy threatened menacingly.

"Hey…wait!  That was Skip…my evil twin!" the demon said, holding up his hands to stay her attack.  "I'm a good Demon Guide…I swear!"

"You expect me to believe that?!  The only good demon is a dead demon," the Slayer said with a scowl.

"Then why haven't you killed Spike…or Angel…or Clem.  And, hey, what about your original Demon Guide, Whistler?"

"You should have stopped at Clem…the only thing I regret in life is not kicking Whistler's ass when I had the chance.  If you're lumping yourself into the same category as Whistler, that tells me you work for the same people…and I don't like them very much."

"Uh…Buffy…should we be worried here?" Sheppard asked cautiously, as he continued to point his P-90 in the direction of the demon.

Buffy gave him a quick glance before turning back to keep an eye on Flip. 

"Sorry to tell you, Major…bullets won't hurt him.  But, don't worry, I can handle him," she said.  "So, Flip, talk fast before I rip off one of your horns and use my stake to scramble your brains – Angel _was_ kind enough to tell me how to kill one of your kind, you know."

The Slayer gave him an evil grin, causing the large demon to gulp.

"These guys accidentally woke up some really nasty things called wraiths that now know about the existence of Earth, but not where it's located.  Just like vampires, they see humans as a source of food, and the thought of 6 billion people are making them salivate like you wouldn't believe.  You're needed here to help keep them from ever reaching Earth, and to kill them all, if possible."

"So how many are there, and how do I kill them?" Buffy said sharply.

"They won't let me tell you that," Flip said reluctantly.

"**_Flip_**...I will say this once, and only once…I will _not_ go into a fight blind as a bat," Buffy said grimly.  "I'm sure these wraiths are not the only baddies I'm going to come up against, I'm going to need something to go on…you know, info, intel, a friggin' how-to manual.  Give me _something_, or I'm going to sit on my pretty little assets until you do – no fighting, no killing, no pulling of the puppet-strings.  _I…will…do…nada!  _Comprende?"

"Slaaayerrrr…you're gonna get me in trouble here.  Can't we start with something small, like a mocha frappacino?" the demon whined.

Buffy glared at him.  "You dump me a bazillion miles from Earth, without letting me say good-bye to my sister and friends, without any clothes, without any other weapons, and probably _no_ espresso beans for miles around, much less a damn mocha frappacino!"

"You want your clothes and stuff?...Done!" Flip snapped his fingers, giving her a hopeful look.

"Not good enough, Flip…I need to know the weaknesses of my enemies, or I'll be one dead Slayer quicker than you can say 'watch out'," Buffy said with a growl.  "How do you think I survived so long back on Earth – it was always from the information Giles found in demon texts…and speaking of which, that's another thing I want!  The newbie Slayers are sitting ducks, they need intel too!  I'm thinking, go back in time and snatch the Council library just before it blows up – God knows it's not doing any good as confetti."

"I can't do that!  Do you know what The Powers would do to me?" Flip whimpered, and somehow looking pale.

"Then tell The Powers to do it themselves…they owe me and my friends a lot more than books, you know – or don't they think the last 9 years are worth anything?" Buffy scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest.  "So, intel here, intel back on Earth, my clothes, and a cryptic lead for Willow…those are my demands – take it or leave it."

Flip's shoulders drooped.  "Whistler said you'd play hard-ball, but he never said it was made out of trinium.  Fine, fine…The Powers thought you might get a little snitty anyway.  You've already got some info here – you'll find it in section Omega 5, but you'll have to figure out where that is and how to access it on your own.  I'll pass your request on about the Council's books, but I can't guarantee anything – you're talking about messing with time, Slayer…they don't like doing that, but considering it was a heavy loss for their side, they might consider it.  As for the rest – your personal items are already here, including your weapons, but I can't do cryptic if my life depended on it."

"Just tell Will that 'NORAD has a pretty ring'…she'll figure it out eventually," Buffy offered, giving the demon guide a helping hand.

"Ms. Summers!  I specifically said that information about the Stargate Program is classified!" Weir barked out, a frown on her face.

"Willow is our best hope of reconnecting with Earth…unless you think you'll be able to figure out how to use all the gizmos here pretty quickly?" Buffy said, arching an eyebrow at the base leader.  "My friends have lived with my secrets for almost the entire time I have, Dr. Weir…they'll keep knowledge of the Stargate to themselves.  Besides, I'm sure Willow's going to have to go through the SGC to make it all work – and she'll have to hook up with that General O'Neill of yours if she wants to attempt anything.  It's a win-win situation for both of us – at least if your General can be trusted with the knowledge about Slayers?"

Dr. Weir hesitated a moment before reluctantly nodding.  "From all the reports I've read about Brigadier General O'Neill, and meeting the man himself, I think I can safely say that the lives of your people would far outweigh any orders he might receive – he has a big soft spot for children."

Buffy gave her a relieved smile before turning back to the pouting demon guide.  "So, Flip, tell Will 'I'm lost in a city, NORAD has a pretty ring, BGO is cool-beans, but it goes no further until we talk' – think that'll do?"

Flip thought about it for a moment before answering, "Hmmm…tells the where, gives the who, but leaves enough blank spots to make her work for it…it'll do."

"So glad you approve," Buffy drawled.

"So I guess that's it, Slayer…I'm off to my next assignment," Flip said nervously.  "Um…good luck?"

Buffy put her scythe away as she approached the nervous demon guide.  "Hey…before you go, Flip, I need you to pass on a message to The Powers."

"What's that?" he responded apprehensively.

The others watched in amazement as the small blonde drew back her fist, and punched the demon, causing him to fly across the room and hit the opposite wall.

Buffy strode to where the demon lay crumpled on the ground.  She grabbed the ring attached to its chin and pulled him to his knees.

Getting in his face she sharply said, "The next time The Powers want me to do something, tell them to **_ask_** first!"

Releasing him, she stepped back.

Flip fell back onto his rear and moaned, reaching up a hand to one of his horns.  He wriggled it back and forth before whining, "I think you broke it, Slayer!  Why'd you have to go and do that?  Do you _know_ how much power it takes to repair it?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and stepped back up to the demon, reaching out to grab his head. 

The demon shuffled back.

"Hold still…let me see it."

Flip reluctantly allowed her to look at his injury, but when she brushed a light finger over it, he let out a wail.

"Owwww…that hurts!"

"Don't be such a big baby, Flip.  I barely touched it, now _let me see_," Buffy scowled as she gripped his head tighter and pulled him towards her.

She took a closer look at the injured horn, ignoring Flip's piteous 'ow-ing', and was surprised to see that the injury was already knitting itself closed.

Letting the demon go, she said, "It's already starting to heal…at that rate, you should be good as new in a few hours."

Flip frowned, and reached up to touch his horn again, but his hand was slapped away from it by the small blonde.

"Don't touch it, Flip.  You might make it worse."

When the demon pouted, Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Am I gonna hafta tie your hands behind your back and make you sit in a corner until it fully heals?" she threatened.

"No, no!  I'll be good, promise…see, not touching," Flip hurriedly said, holding his hands away from his body.

"Good…the next time I see you, it better not be crooked, or I'll know…actually, wait…the next time I see you, I'm gonna kick your ass again."

Flip pouted again.  "Just for that, I'm not gonna tell you where your clothes are."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Leave now, Flip, before I decide to try out the new flying kick I learned on your other horn."

Flip 'eep'ed and disappeared.

Shaking her head in amusement, Buffy turned back to the quiet group, only to see them staring at her in shocked disbelief.

"What?  Never seen someone kick an 8 foot demon's ass, treat him like he was a petulant child, then threaten to kick his ass again?"

"Um…that would be a 'no', Bob," McKay quipped faintly.

Buffy laughed.

"Welcome to my bizarre life, Dr. Mckay.  Get used to it – it happens more often than not."

"Should we expect any more of these…demon guides?" Dr. Weir said, trying to shake herself back into some semblance of control.

"Nah…they tend to just pass on their demands and go, never to be seen again until the next major catastrophe they want me to take care of…before Flip, the last time I saw one, was about 7 years ago," Buffy explained.  "In any case, I'm kinda glad this happened.  Barring the severe lack of malls and mochas, I was feeling kinda redundant back on Earth, what with all the mini-Slayers running around and getting under my feet.  It'll be nice to be the Chose **_One_** again for a while."

Sheppard slung his weapon over his shoulder, now that the immediate threat was gone. 

"Well then, since it looks like you're going to be with us for a while, I guess we'll have to see about finding you some quarters, Buffy…that is, if it's alright with you, Dr. Weir," the Major said, looking at his base leader.

Dr. Weir shook her head in mild amusement, still having trouble with the concept of demons, portals, magic, and…oh, hell, basically everything that Buffy talked about.  She waved a hand at them, giving her permission for them to leave.

Sheppard grinned at the small blonde, and held out an arm.  "Shall we, Ms. Summers?"

"Let's shall, Major Sheppard," Buffy responded with a matching grin as she looped her arm around his. 

"Hey…if you promise to teach me that flying kick you talked about, I'll get some of the base soldiers to help find your personal items," he said as he led her towards the exit.

"My dear Major…I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Only friendship?" he flirted lightly.

"Well, keep up the sweet-talkin', and I just might upgrade you."

"To what?"

Buffy gave him a coy look.  "Checkers opponent."

The rest of the group watched as Major Sheppard let out a delighted laugh as the two exited the room.

McKay leaned towards Dr. Beckett.

"Think she'd go out with me if I asked?"

"I think you'd have to get through the Major first, Dr. McKay…_then_ face her axe," Beckett offered.

"True, true…but do you think she'd go out with me if I asked?" McKay asked nonplussed.

Beckett shook his head in amusement before he said, "If she did…where would you go?"

"Hmmm…good point.  I'll think of something."

Weir and Teyla shared a smile as the two doctors walked away, a smirking Lt. Ford following them.

"You've been very quiet about all this, Teyla," Weir said to the shorter woman.

"There is much you can learn by observation, Dr. Weir," the Athosian woman said quietly.

"And what did you learn?" she asked curiously.

"That behind the laughter, Buffy Summers is a fierce warrior…a warrior that our enemies will soon become wary of.  Her first instinct is to protect others, and though she is cautious, she does not judge a species based on their appearance.  Her eyes speak of great battles and painful losses…yet the hardness has been tempered by the love of her friends and family," Teyla responded in her insightful way.  Turning to the woman in charge of her people's refuge, she said, "We have been given a light of hope for the dark days to come, Dr. Weir."

Weir gave her a smile as she replied, "I sincerely hope so, Teyla – from the way things are going, we could use all the help we can get."

==================================================================

"I'm sorry we couldn't find your stuff, Buffy – I can loan you shirt for the moment, and maybe we can get you a few other items until we find your stuff," Sheppard offered apologetically.

For the past three hours, the two had been attempting to locate the young woman's personal items, but had come up empty.  Considering it was starting to get late, they called it quits for the day, and were now heading back to the more populated areas of the Atlantis base.

"I'd appreciate it, John," Buffy sighed before scowling, "Stupid demon!  I can't believe he did that!"

"Well, you _did_ give him a really good right hook…maybe it's his way of paying you back for that."

"True."

"Come on…my quarters are just around the corner."

The two turned a corner and went down the hallway for a short while before Sheppard stopped in front of a door to the left.

Waving his hand over a panel to the right of the doorway, the entrance swished open. 

Gesturing Buffy to precede him, he waited until she stepped into the room before following.

Buffy came to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening comically.

"I think I found my stuff, John," she said faintly.

At her words, Sheppard looked over her shoulder.  His mouth dropped open in surprise.

Sure enough, the Major's room now looked well-lived in, what with all the brick-a-brac scattered across every available surface – pictures, jewelry, a pink stuffed pig – and a large, heavy-looking chest sat at the end of the bed.  

But what really left both of them grasping for words was the bed itself…it was covered in a warm burgundy bedspread that was turned back, as if waiting for someone to snuggle into it – flower petals were strewn across it, and several candles littered the side tables.

As they continued to gape in the direction of the sleeping area, the candles lit themselves, creating a warm cozy feeling in the room, and from somewhere, the sound of soft, mellow music began to play.

"Oh…my…God…" Sheppard choked out.

Buffy was only capable of giving a whimpering "Meh…" while she fluttered a hand in the direction of the bed.

After several minutes of stunned silence, something began to bubble up from Buffy's gut.  Opening her mouth, she let out a wail.

"_Fliiiiiiiiiiiip__!"___

There was a short moment of silence before a deep giggling voice answered.  "Hey, Slayer!  What do you think?  I was told this kind of setting really gets a woman in the _mood_."

Buffy flushed a beet red as she let out another wail, "_Fliiiiiiiiiiiiip_!"

"Aw, come on, Slayer…I saw how the two of you have been flirting up a storm for the past three hours!  And, for some reason, The Powers approve – they really dig your Major there…I'm just trying to help things along," he cajoled happily. 

"Haven't you ever heard of _dating_ first?!"

The blonde woman whimpered, turning to look at a silent Sheppard – his face was just as red as hers, and his mouth gaped open and closed like a fish.

"John, please don't take this the wrong way, but…I gotta get out of here," Buffy said with another whimper, then turned on her heels and headed towards the door.

"I'll…join you," Sheppard choked out, following quickly behind her.

"Awww…come on, guys…I went to all this trouble – the least you can do is give the bed a trial run!  Slayer?  Major?"

As soon as the door opened, they went to make their escape, but were brought up short by the presence of Dr. Weir, who was standing in front of the door with her hand raised as if to knock.

"Major, I was just coming to see if you and Ms. Summers were able to loc…" Weir broke off as she noticed the bright faces of the two.  Seeing that they were practically hyperventilating, she sharply asked, "What's wrong?"

The two were unable to say anything other than a few vowel sounds, so just resorted to pointing back in the direction of the room.  They moved aside to allow Weir entry.

Stepping in, Weir immediately saw what the problem was.  She struggled to maintain a straight face as she turned back to the other two, seeing them bending over as they took deep, calming breaths.

"Care to explain?" she said, lips slightly twitching.

Buffy squeaked out, "Flip…matchmaking…" before grabbing Sheppard's arm and dragging him away from the room.

The two were almost flat out running by the time they were half-way down the hall.

Weir watched for a moment before she burst out laughing, leaning against the wall and wrapping her arms around her stomach, as her mirth sucked the breath from her lungs.

She had known this post was going to be very interesting, but she'd had no idea of just _how _interesting.

===========================================================

For the next few days, Major Sheppard and Buffy danced around each other, as if on eggshells – acting so formal and polite that the others felt like they should be wearing their dress uniforms.

Buffy was the first to break, the stuffiness of their interaction finally getting to her.

Stalking up to where the handsome Major was sitting with some of the other off-duty soldiers, she grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him up.  Wrapping a hand around his neck, she pulled his face towards hers and planted a deep kiss on his startled lips.

When she finally released both his lips and his shirt, she stepped back and gave him a defiant look.

"Just so we understand each other, I like you…and if I knew what the hell we could do around here, I'd ask you out on a date."

So saying, the blonde woman turned and began to stalk away, but before she could take more than a step, her arm was grabbed and she was spun around.  It was the Major's turn to grab and smooch this time.

When they came up for air the second time, the Major gave her a grin, his eyes sparkling, "Well, I like you too…and regardless of the fact that there really _isn't_ much to do, I _am_ asking you on a date."

"Fine!"

Fine!

"Fine."

"Is that a yes?"

Buffy laughed, "Yes."

And thus began the not-quite-a-fairy-tale romance of one Slayer, and one Major.

====================================================

_Four weeks later_

"Unidentifiable stuff…more unidentifiable stuff…ugly stuff…are you sure I can't press any buttons?  If something happens to start shooting at us, at least it would make things a little more lively for a while," Buffy said with a pout.

Sheppard laughed from across the storage room they had found in the section of Atlantis they were mapping for Dr. Weir.

"I don't think Dr. Weir would appreciate it if any of this…stuff got shot up – you never know if it's important," Sheppard said with an apologetic smile.

"Dammit," Buffy said with a frown of disappointment.  "Well, I think we should move to the next room – I have a feeling this one has 'abandoned stuff' written all over it."

"I agree, but before we go, I have to ask…do you think this shade of silver looks good on me?" the Major asked with a smirk as he held a strangely-shaped garment up to his chest.

"Yeah…it brings out the grey in your hair."

Buffy laughed when Sheppard lifted a hand to his head, before dashing out of the room at the 'you're gonna get it' glint in his eyes.

The blonde woman slowed as she approached the next room they were going to check out, waiting for the dark-haired man to catch up.  Following procedure, she swiped her hand across the panel to open the door, then waited for the Major to check for any possible problems.  At his all clear, she stepped into the room.

It was a fairly large room, but relatively empty.  There was a console a couple of feet in front of them, and the walls were lined with what looked like covered alcoves.  High above them, there seemed to be platforms that led to the outside.

Buffy stepped up to the console, and was a little surprised when it immediately lit up.  Her hand went up to trace a symbol on one of the buttons, and she was startled when a 'wooshing' sound was heard as soon as she touched the button.

"Sorry, John…I think these buttons are a little sensi…ti…oh…my…God!"

Sheppard whirled around at her sound of shock, and his eyes immediately locked on to what the blonde woman was staring at.  He slowly walked up to stand at her side.

"Can I _pleeeeease_, John?  Pleasepleasepleaseplease…" Buffy begged, wide-eyed, as she continued to stare at the objects in the alcove.

"I really don't think we should, Buffy.  McKay needs to check everything out, to make sure it won't blow up in our face," Sheppard replied reluctantly.

"I don't think this is a blowing-up kind of thing, John.  Besides, do you _really_ think Dr. 'I-trip-over-my-own-feet' McKay would be a good test-subject for this kind of thing?" she countered with a raised eye-brow.

"Good point."

"Beside…big room…lotsa space…good for practice…" Buffy said, giving him a _look_.

Sheppard hesitated a moment, his expression grave as he said, "Race ya!" before taking off towards the opened niche.

Buffy laughed as she raced the Major to the alcove.  They each grabbed one of the items inside.

.

.

.

"Have you heard from Major Sheppard or Ms. Summers yet, Lieutenant?" Dr. Weir asked from the Atlantis Command Room.

"Not yet, Ma'am…but they're not due to report for another five minutes," the lieutenant replied.

Distant shouts were heard by everyone in the room.

"Who's that?  And where is it coming from?" Weir asked, bewildered.

The shouts were heard again.

_'It sounds like they're coming from…outside?' _Weir thought.  She moved to the next room that had a bay window looking out over the island of Atlantis, Dr. McKay stepping up next to her as they both looked outside, searching for the shouting voices.

_"Atlantis Command…do you copy?"_

McKay handed his radio over to the base leader.

"This is Atlantis Command…is that you Major Sheppard?" Weir asked with a confused voice.

_"That's a big 10-4!  Requesting a flyby for two, doctor."_

Baffled, Weir stared at the radio she held in her hand for a moment before clicking the button to transmit, "I'm sorry, Major, did you just request a flyby?"

_"10-4, Ma'am…for two…just say yes, get to the bay window, and be prepared to be amazed!"_

"I'm already there, Major…um…request granted?" she said in bewilderment.

She and McKay continued to look out the bay window, several soldiers and Athosians coming up to stand behind them.

A few seconds later, two large objects flew just feet in front of the window, startling the group of people. 

Weir stepped back in surprise before going back up to the window and looking out.  She could see the objects flying, side-by-side, as they swooped down, then back up, heading straight back for the window.

In moments, Buffy appeared directly in front of them, and it looked like she had a pair of…wings attached to her back.  It was disconcerting to everyone to see her hovering in front of them with only a pair of shimmering objects holding her up. 

Major Sheppard's face appeared over her shoulder, grinning madly.

"Guess what we found, Dr. Weir," Buffy laughed.  "And look Ma…I even got a hand free for a weapon!"

Buffy waved her right hand at them, which prompted Weir to look at her other hand – it looked as if is was encased in a glove, and every once-in-a-while, her fingers would flutter open, then close into a fist…Weir presumed it was some sort of movement necessary to command the actions of the wings.

"Awww…man!  How come you guys tried it first?!  I'm supposed to play with the stuff you find before I give the go-ahead for you to try it out!" McKay whined.

"Sorry, KayKay…considering the fact that John flew into the wall in the practice room, I don't think it would have been a good idea for _you_ to even get _near_ it," Buffy said with a smirk.

"Hey!  You promised you wouldn't say anything about that," Sheppard growled from behind her.

"I said I'd think about it…well, I thought…and decided it was your turn to sound stupid in front of everyone else," she replied with a laugh before crossing her arm over her chest, which caused the wings to wrap around her body – she dropped like a rock.

Weir gasped.

"Buffy!  I'm gonna get you for that!" Sheppard shouted, before he too crossed his arm over his chest, quickly disappearing from view.

The group pressed up against the window and looked down.  They were just in time to see both Buffy and Sheppard swoop up, well above the ground, and showing no danger of plummeting to their death.

For the next 10 minutes, the group watched in amazement as the two 'flyers' played an ethereally graceful game of cat and mouse…of course this caused several of the soldiers to place bets on whether or not the Major caught the young woman.

Those who bet against Buffy lost, big-time, since it was very apparent that she was 'caught' by her own choice, when the Major grabbed her around the waist for a quick smooch before letting her go.  The two quickly disappeared around a building, and out of sight of the bay window.

=============================================================

Buffy, with the help of the other base soldiers, eventually found section Omega 5, but it took the talents of Dr. McKay to access the control panel that housed the history of Atlantis.

While Dr. Weir organized a group of Athosian's to work on translating the personal history of the Atlantians, Buffy garnered Teyla to help with the texts on the other species in the galaxy.

They found that this part of the universe was just as prone to demons and other nasties as Buffy's homeworld, but were disappointed to see that, at the time of the Atlantians' disappearance, they had yet to find a way to permanently _kill_ the wraiths…though there were several ways to slow down their healing process (not to mention many things that caused them extreme pain).

While the information was disappointing, at least they had hundreds of things to cross off their 'doesn't kill wraiths' list – but Buffy was surprised to see that 'staking' wasn't one of them, and she had to wonder…

=============================================================

_One month later:_

"Security breach in the gate room!  Security breach in the gate room!" a male voice spoke fervently over the intercom.

Dr. Weir immediately made her way to the room that housed the stargate, arriving at the command station at same time as several soldiers. 

Just as Buffy Summers stepped up next to her, she noticed a small blue hole opening to the left of the stargate.  It was approximately 2 feet in diameter. 

"Hello?  Hello?  Is anyone there?" a female voice came from the mini-portal.

Buffy squealed in excitement and dashed down the stairs, shouting, "Willow!"

"Buffy!" the female voice, now identified as Willow, squealed in return. 

"Ohmygod, Ohmygod, Ohmygod!  I _knew_ you'd find me, Will!" Buffy shouted as she dropped to her knees in order to put herself at the same level as the portal.  She felt a stab of home-sickness as she looked into the portal to see the familiar grinning face of her red-headed best-friend.

"Are you OK, Buffy?  Are you really in Atlantis?!  We thought we'd never find you…and can I say, 'cryptic much'?  Xander kept insisting that BGO stood for the British Garrison on O-Level – he was really disappointed that it meant Brigadier General O'Neill, until he actually met him.  God Buffy!  It's like being with two Xander's, one older, and one…Xander age – I've been surrounded by Simpson quotes for the last 3 weeks!  And OH MY GOD!  Did you know that they can travel to other worlds?!  That ring thingie you mentioned in your message goes to a bunch of different planets in our galaxy, though I haven't been to one yet…"

"Willow!  Willow!  Breathe," Buffy said laughing in delight at hearing the familiar babbling of her best-friend.

"Sorry, Buffy…it's just that you can't believe all the stuff they do here!  I mean, _other planets_!"

"I know Will…I'm kinda _at_ one now," the blonde giggled.

"Oh yeah…kinda forgot that in all the excitement," Willow said as she blushed.  "We're working on a way to get you home, Buffy, but we just haven't figured out how to create a two-way portal that will allow living things to travel through it yet.  By the way, don't touch the portal – I don't know what it could do to you."

"Gotcha, Will."

"Oh, Oh!  But we _can_ send non-living things through!  I've got something for you, Buff!  Hang on…"

Willow leaned to her right and reached for something out of Buffy's sight.  She righted herself and tossed a shiny object through the portal with a quick "Catch!"

Buffy held out her hands, and not seconds later, an oblong silver object fell into them.  She stared at it before grinning…it was a thermos.  Opening it, her eyes rolled back in ecstasy at the smell that wafted up.

"Oh…God…mocha frappacino!  Willow, you are a _goddess_!" she said in a breathy voice before taking a quick gulp then sighing in satisfaction.

Willow giggled.

"Buffy?  I take it that's your friend from Earth?" Dr. Weir said, a touch of awe and excitement in her voice as she approached the area where the small blonde was kneeling.

"Oh…yeah!  Willow, I'd like you to meet Dr. Weir…she's the base leader here at the Atlantis post.  Dr. Weir…Willow," Buffy said, making quick introductions.  "Hey Will…are you working the portal from the SGC?"

"Yup…I even got a General breathing down my neck," the red-head said with a giggle.

Buffy laughed as she caught site of an older, handsome man waving hello from several feet behind her friend.

"Well, if he's the salt-n-pepper hottie standing behind you, put him on…Dr. Weir has been eager to talk with him.  Oh…by the way…how long can you keep this portal thingie open?"

Dawn's head popped next to Willow's, scowling.  "As long as I keep bleeding!  When am I gonna stop being the portal-maker, Buffy?  This is _so_ not fun…people are gonna think I'm suicidal with all the scars."

"Dawnie…" Buffy whispered, her eyes tearing up at the sight of her sister.

The younger brunette's scowl dropped from her face as she smiled at her sister.

"I miss you too, Buffy.  We'll get you back soon."

Buffy froze at that, causing her sister to give her a look of concern.

"Buffy?"

"Portal or no portal, I don't know when I can come back, Dawn…The Powers are the ones who brought me here.  There's some really nasty things in this part of the universe that they need me to help take care of.  Besides, I'm kinda havin' fun being the only Slayer around to kick their butts!"

"Stupid Powers!" Dawn scowled.  "Then I guess we'll just have to come to you once we figure out a better way to make a portal without sucking out my blood or having it kill anything."

"I would definitely love team SGA-Scoobies here to guard my back – not that there aren't qualified people here already…it's just…you guys are my rock," Buffy said tearfully.

"We'll find a way, Buffy, just hang in there.  Love you," Dawn said softly.

"Love you too, Dawnie."

As Dawn moved out of sight, Willow came back with a grin.

"We're all here, Buff…and we're all gonna have a couple of minutes to talk with you, but the General is getting' antsy to talk with Dr. Weir."

The older man's head popped in next to Willow's.

"Hellloooo…is it my turn yet?" General O'Neill said with a grin. 

Buffy looked back and forth between her friend and the handsome older man.

"Gee Will…you guys look good together.  You should think about switching sides again."

Willow blushed and gave an embarrassed 'eep' before falling away from the portal.

O'Neill chuckled as he moved in to take her place.

"So I'm a hottie, huh?" he said as he gave her a grin.

"Yeah…and if I didn't already have one, I might have considered going after you," Buffy said, flirting with the older man.

Willow's voice could be heard shouting, "You have a hottie?!!  I want details!"

O'Neill chuckled before asking to speak to Dr. Weir.

Buffy moved to let the Atlantis base leader to take her place in front of the portal.

The two base leaders quickly exchanged information, knowing their time was limited, and O'Neill began tossing things through as they spoke – mostly stacks of paperwork, other items he thought they needed, and a few non-essential items that he thought the base soldiers might like.

"Well, my time's up, Dr. Weir – we're going to try this again every week or so, but it'll be sporadic, since it all depends on a bleeding teenager," O'Neill said with a grimace.  "We're working on alternatives, which Willow will go over with you and Ms. Summers at another time.  In the mean time, I would appreciate it if you would start filling out mission reports and return them with anything else that can be sent back to the SGC – especially things that'll help us with the Goa'uld."

"Understood, sir.  It'll be a pleasure to have closer relations with Home Base," Weir said with a smile.

Weir moved away from the portal, allowing Buffy to retake her position in front of it.

The small blonde was surprised to see General O'Neill still there.

"General?"

"Ms. Summers, I know time is short, but there's a couple of things we need to talk about," he said shortly. "Namely your people, and how the hell I'm supposed to keep the knowledge about them from my superiors."

Buffy grinned at him.  "We've already figured that one out, General.  Perhaps I should re-introduce myself.  Hi!  I'm Annaleigh, eldest of my people, The Chosen, and, if you agree, I will tell you everything about us except the location of my home world – I would also ask that our story is revealed to as few people as possible, and that no testing be done on my people.  Can you agree to those terms?"

"You're invoking a treaty between species?" O'Neill gave her an incredulous look before grinning.  "Sweet!  That'll definitely take care of a lot of problems on my end."

"You can thank Major Sheppard for that one, General," Buffy said, returning his grin.

"Pass my thanks along, then.  Now, the second thing…I've already asked Rupert, but he said I'd have to go through you – we'd like to get a few of your older…girls here.  Things are heating up, and we could use their special skills."

Buffy frowned, "I don't know if that's wise, General…that'll put them into the spotlight on your end.  But, since a few of them will be turning 18 fairly soon, I have no say if they want to join you.  I only ask that they not be allowed to _join_ the military – it wouldn't do to put them under the government's thumb."

"Understood, Ms. Summers.  But with your invoking a treaty between species, and not saying what planet you're from, I think we can give any trouble-makers the run-around – the girls could just state that, if anyone tries any monkey-business, they're gonna go home."

"I hope that'll work, General, but you can hash out the details with Giles," Buffy said with a smile.  "Oh!  Hey!   Before you go, I was wondering…think you can send us a couple of those zattie things next time?  I'm sure the guys here would like to see if it'll work against the baddies in this neck of the universe."

"I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do.  It was nice speaking with you, Ms. Summers…until next time," the General gave her a mock-salute before moving out of view.

Willow popped back in, along with a grinning Xander, and for the next 10 minutes, Buffy chatted with her friends, sister, and Watcher.

"We gotta go, Buff…Dawnie's looking a little pale around the edges," Willow said reluctantly.

"But before we go, we got something for you," Xander said with a goofy grin as he pulled a box from behind him.

"Wait, wait!" Dawn's voice shouted from the side.  Her arm appeared, snatching the box from the dark-haired man. 

There was a sound of rustling before the box was shoved back into Xander's hand.  He looked at it before bursting out in laughter as he handed it to Willow.  When she took a look at it, she burst into a fit of giggles.  Buffy looked at them in bemusement, wondering what the heck was going on.

The red-head tossed it into the portal, and Buffy opened her hands to catch it.  The box fell neatly into her hands, and she turned it around.  Seeing the contents, she cracked up.

"Oh God…I'm gonna miss you guys!" she said, sniffling away the tears in her eyes.

"But we'll talk to you again soon…and don't think we're going stop from finding a way to get to you, Buffy!  Be strong!" Giles said with a voice made gruff with his own tears.

With shouts of good-bye, the portal winked out, leaving a small blonde woman sniffling between giggles.

Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard approached Buffy as she stood.  They glanced curiously at the box she held.

Buffy handed the box to Sheppard, Weir leaning over to take a look at it too.

They laughed at the sight of a complete set of Scooby-Doo dolls, including Scrappy.  Each had a name-tag attached to them, and each of them held some sort of weapon.

Scrappy was Dawn, Daphne was Buffy, Velma was Willow, Shaggy was Xander, and Scoobie-Doo was Giles, though there was another note written in the familiar scrawl of her Watcher that said 'I'll have you know that I protest at being linked to a canine!'  But it was the quickly scrawled note in Dawn's handwriting, that was pinned to Fred, which had them all laughing…it said 'Major Hottie' Sheppard.

"So I'm a hottie, huh?" Sheppard said to her with a grin.

"Yeah, _my_ hottie," she said, grinning back at him.

===========================================================

_One Year Later_

"Unscheduled off-world activation!  Unscheduled off-world activation!" a male voice intoned over the intercom.

Dr. Weir and SGA-1 immediately came alert.  The only activity they expected was a scheduled portal-call from the SGC.  The security force moved into place, and pointed their weapons at the active wormhole.

"Any IDC codes, Lieutenant?" Weir asked the man at the console.

He looked at her with a confused expression.  "It's…SG-1's code, ma'am…from the SGC."

Everyone grinned in excitement as Weir gave the order to open the iris.

There was a moment's quiet as they all waited with bated breath for the appearance of the SGC's premier team.  So, it was a great surprise to everyone when one teenager, two young-adults, and an older gentleman stepped through.

The teenager grinned at everyone as she clearly stated, "SGA-Scoobies reporting for duty!"

Buffy squealed as she dashed down the stairs and into the arms of her sister and friends.  There was a lot of laughter, excited shouting, and many, many hugs – so much so, that the actual appearance of SG-1 almost went unnoticed.

Dr. Weir approached the other group of grinning adults, holding out her hand to take the General's.

"Welcome to SG Atlantis, General O'Neill – it's good to see you in the flesh," Weir said with a grin.

"Good to be here in the flesh, Dr. Weir," O'Neill returned, shaking her hand.

"If we'd known you'd actually be coming, we would have prepared a better welcome."

"We didn't want to get anyone's hopes up, just in case the wormhole didn't connect on this end – we _were _preparing to travel on the Pagan-Tech Express, after all.  Besides, I don't think there's a better welcome to see than one where family and friends are brought back together," O'Neill said with a smiling nod in the direction of the ebullient group.

"Very true," she replied, smiling at the loud group.

"Just a word of warning about the red-head, Dr. Weir – she babbles worse than Carter, and she's practically salivating at the thought of getting her hands on some of the technology you've got stashed here.  Be prepared – that girl's brain is worse than a Tilt-n-Whirl…her thought processes will spin you around and tip you upside-down until you're ready to throw up."

Everyone in hearing distance laughed at that.

"So, has he asked her yet, Elizabeth?" Major Carter asked with a sly grin.

"Not yet, Sam…we knew you guys were getting close to establishing a wormhole here, and he wanted to wait until she was surrounded by her friends.  If it hadn't worked within the next few weeks, he would have gone ahead – but I'm glad to see that it's going to happen like he wanted."

Weir and Carter grinned at each other while the men looked on in confusion.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" O'Neill frowned at them.

"Just wait, General…I think it's going to happen any minute," Weir said mysteriously as she gave Sam a wink.  "As soon as we realized just who was here, he took off towards his quarters."

"Who?!  What?!  Come on, guys…tell me," the General whined. 

Weir just shook her head with a grin, then pointed at someone coming down the stairs.

It was Major Sheppard, dressed to the nines in his formal blues.  As he walked down the stairs, voices fell to a hush, until the only people left speaking were Buffy and the Scoobies.

Willow stopped in the middle of a sentence with a grin.  Buffy looked at her in confusion until the red-head pointed a finger in Sheppard's direction.

The blonde turned, a startled look crossing her face as she saw her boyfriend dressed up as if he was going to a formal military event.

Sheppard crooked a finger at her, and Buffy approached him with a confused look on her face.

"Why are you all dressed up, John?"

The Major didn't say anything, just dropped to one knee in front of her and reached for one of her hands.  Buffy covered her mouth with her free hand, as her cheeks flushed and tears welled in her eyes.

"You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met – you can kick my ass six ways to Sunday, yank my chain like no one else, and go from dumb-blonde to veteran general in 6 seconds flat…and God I love you for all that," Sheppard said with a grin.

Buffy gave a soggy laugh.

"I only waited for so long, so that we could be surrounded by all our friends and family when I did this.  And now that everyone important to us is here, I can't wait anymore.  Buffy Summers, will you marry me."

By this time, Buffy was so choked up with tears, that all she could do was nod her head before throwing herself into his arms.

After sharing a long kiss, causing everyone to hoot and holler, Sheppard finally had the chance to slip the ring on her finger before pulling her into another heart-stopping kiss.

Willow and Dawn exchanged grins before squealing in excitement and throwing themselves at the smooching couple, breaking the two apart. 

Buffy laughed as she and her fiance were pulled in to a group hug, which Xander happily joined.  Giles, with more dignity, shook hands with the young Major before hugging the young blonde that he had watch grow up from a young girl into a beautiful woman.

Everyone grinned at the display.

O'Neill, not one to pass up the chance at a good ribbing, walked over to give the happy couple his own brand of best wishes.

"Nice rock, Shep…who'd you have to bribe to get _that_ through Stargate Customs?" the General said with a grin.

"No bribes, sir…it was more a case of a brunette death-threat, a red-headed warning of no more football videos, two protective male Scoobies, and a luggage full of jewelry catalogs from one astrophysicist – I was inevitably doomed," Sheppard chuckled.

Buffy laughed as she socked him in the arm.  "Yeah, right…it was more likely that you promised to name our first-born after whoever got what you needed to pull this off – so, what's the name gonna be?"

"Wildawsam if it's a girl, Xangile if it's a boy," the Major said with a smirk.

Both O'Neill and Buffy pretended to hurl at that.

"I don't think so, buster!" Buffy said with a laugh.

"It's a beautiful ring, Buffy…when I saw which one he chose, I _knew_ it would be perfect for you," Sam said with a smile, though a flash of sadness briefly flitted through her eyes.

Buffy looked at her sharply, then looked at the General…a mischievous thought flared through her head – one she couldn't resist…and one she hoped would spark some _very_ creative maneuvering on her victims' parts.

"Sooooo…General, Colonel…when are youplanning on announcing _your_ engagement?" she said with a dancing glint in her eyes.

They both blushed a bright red, and neither could make a coherent sentence – though both finally managed to squeak out the word 'Regs'.

"Oh don't give me that!  If you guys had even one iota of imagination, you coulda worked this out ages ago," Buffy said smartly.  "I mean…it's been 10 years now – don't you think it's about time you retired SG-1?  Your faces are probably plastered all over the galaxy with a hefty reward noted underneath – one that not many people would probably refuse, either.  Look at Daniel, for heaven's sake!"

The all turned to look at the archaeologist, who bore several bruises and scratches, not to mention a broken arm – compliments of a minor Goa'uld who had immediately recognized his face on his arrival to the planet, even though Daniel had been accompanying a different team...he was tortured mercilessly before finally being rescued by another SG unit.

"While Teal'c is only branded as a traitor by the Goa'uld, _you _guys are acknowledged as a _threat_ – it's time you started thinking about pulling yourselves out of the limelight before you end up really, really dead.  Besides, don't you think it's about time that Teal'c started making appearances as a leader of the rebellion, and fostering more support by leading a team of his own?  Maybe one that would include some of my girls?  Hell, I'll even let Dawn be part of the team if she wants – Daniel said she's got a real good grasp on languages and cultures…a really _big_ compliment, if I understand things correctly," Buffy said with a sly look.

"There's still the Regs," Weir said with a slight smile, though, if she knew Buffy, the girl had a _really_ creative way around that particular problem – and if it ended up with the General and Colonel _finally_ being allowed to act upon certain feelings, so much the better.

"Pfffft…not a problem," Buffy said, waving a hand in the air.  "Create a scientific team that focuses on figuring out how to use, and reverse-engineering, Atlantian weapons for the defense of Earth, put Sam in charge, and have General Hammond oversee the team.  Sam won't be under your direct chain of command, she'll be able to continue having fun with the high-tech Atlantian doo-dads, and still be home for dinner, now that we got a techno-pagan two-way street between galaxies."

O'Neill and Carter looked stunned.

"Besides, it would be really funny to see mini- Jacks and Sams running around, building really cool space-gadgets that they'd name after Simpson characters."

Weir and Sheppard were desperately trying not to laugh in the face of their superiors' looks of amazement – after all, it was such a _simple_ solution…one that, with their combined brain-power, they should have come up with _long_ ago.

"I am SO good," the blonde woman said as she gave the two shocked people a smug smile before traipsing off to talk with her friends again, dragging a chuckling Sheppard behind her.

Weir looked at the General and Colonel – noticing that they were gazing at each other with looks of hesitant hope, she removed herself to allow them a moment alone.  She smiled as she walked away – truly believing that, quite soon, she may be hearing about another engagement.

==================================================================

It took nearly a decade, but it finally happened…both the SGC and SGA defeated the greatest threats in both parts of the universe. 

There were still plenty of demons and other baddies around to plague each of their galaxies, but both the Wraiths and the Goa'uld were gone…completely – obliterated out of existence by the combined power of weapons from the Goa'uld, the Ancients, the Atlantians, the Slayers, and, of course, magic.

Though there were still thousands of planets to explore, and many, many technological items to figure out, at least they would now be able to focus the majority of their time and energy on them.

And within that decade, both Buffy and Sam had been able to fulfill their own personal dream…you know, the one where the sound of pitter-pattering feet predominated…extensively.

But, unfortunately, the President wouldn't let 6-year old Danny O'Neill rename the Atlantian puddle-jumpers the 'Bart-mobiles'.

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Now that _that's_ out of my system, maybe I should get back to my OTHER stories before I get any more death threats.  :)

I know I left a lot of plot holes, such as _how_ to kill a wraith, how they were able to create a wormhole between the SGC and the SGA without drawing a lot of energy (or Dawn bleeding), how Buffy fits in (e.g. what SGA team, what she does on the base, etc.), and probably many, many more.  But, as I said, I wanted a short, feel-good, happy ending story…so things had to be cut short.  Sorry!

Note:  I am in NO way an expert on medicine or science, so if there are any errors in that regard, please feel free to point them out to me, and I'll try to fix them.  Thanks!!

Hope you enjoyed! 

Reviews are heavily encouraged!


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